The first investigation
by VerMa
Summary: The story of the first serious investigation of The Scooby Doo Detective Agency which years later became Mystery Inc. The action is set in slightly altered "A Pup named Scooby Doo" universe. Main characters belong to Hanna-Barbera and Warner Bros. Compatible with all the other stories except for "Those meddling kids".
1. The boys

**Hi!**

**I announce to all and sundry that I'm still alive, I'm doing fine and I'm going to publish another story. :) It's set in "A Pup Named Scooby-Doo" universe with only minor modifications. For example – I changed the age difference between Shaggy and his younger sister. In case you were bothered by the question "why", I'll just say it will be useful to me in the future. ;)**

**Enjoy!**

**VerMa**

* * *

It was June 4, 1985. Samuel Rogers, a twenty-five-year-old police officer with light brown, short hair and honest, hazel eyes, walked out of the hospital, carrying his three-year-old son, Norville, in his arms. At work, he was irreplaceable because of his strength and courage, but he wasn't one of the super humans who could do almost everything – cook great, know how to carry out even quite big renovations only by themselves, plus: work both normally and as a volunteer and somehow always find time for their hobbies and family... In short, he needed help. His wife, Jessica, who was awaiting the birth of their daughter, Maggie, had just been taken to hospital and he had to take care of their son. The problem was that he wasn't able to care for him, work and visit his wife all in one day. That's why he'd decided to leave the boy for a few days in the house of his high school friend, Skip Jones, and his wife, Peggy. However, the little Shaggy, nicknamed so by his parents because of his ever-messy, light brown hair, wasn't happy with being separated from his mom.

"I want my mommy!" he complained.

"I told you that you can't go to mommy now. The doctor didn't allow it" said Mr. Rogers, placing the boy in his car seat and fastening the seatbelt, then he sat behind the wheel, started the engine and drove out of the hospital parking lot. "He said that mommy must rest because later, your little sister won't let her sleep."

"I not want a wittwe sistew! I want my mommy!" (_Translation to the standard English: I don't want a little sister! I want my mommy!_)

"Wait a few days and you'll have both mommy and a little sister. And you'll be a big, strong, elder brother. What do you say?"

"I want my mommy!" the toddler cried.

"But you do like Aunt Peggy" the father was close to despairing now.

"I not want Aunt Peggy! I want my mommy!"

"Listen now, son" Mr. Rogers stopped the car in front of a small house, covered with white plaster "we're already there anyway, so stop whining. And you know what? If you behave well, I'll buy you your favorite candy. Okay?" of course, Samuel was aware that Jessie wouldn't be pleased with bribing the little Norville. But, well, Jessie was in hospital, and he was already out of other ideas.

Shaggy closely looked at his dad.

"Yes" he said finally, smiling at the thought of sweets.

"Good boy" Mr. Rogers sighed with relief. Luckily, his son's favorite candies weren't the most expensive ones.

The door, to which a plate with the inscription "Skip and Peggy Jones" was bolted, opened after the second pressing of the doorbell. A blond-haired man of medium height stood in the doorway. Compared to Samuel, who was almost two meters tall, he appeared to be short and petit, however.

"Hi, Sam" the host grinned upon seeing his guests.

"Hello, Skip" Mr. Rogers greeted him. "Where's Peggy?"

"In the bathroom. She's bathing Freddy. And this must be your little Norville, right?"

"Yes, though we call him Shaggy more often."

"It's not hard to guess why" Mr. Jones glanced at the messy hair of his friend's son and suddenly slapped his own forehead. "Oh, goodness, where are my manners!" he exclaimed, stepping aside. "Come in, boys."

"Skip, my dear, who are you talking to?" a slim, blond-haired woman appeared in the corridor, holding a small but extremely frisky bundle, formed by a blue towel, in her arms. Upon seeing this weird thing, the little Norville clung to his father's left leg.

"We have guests" Skip said, pointing to Samuel and Shaggy.

"Norville, dear, you're finally here!" the woman handed the bundle to her husband, took Shaggy in her arms and kissed his forehead.

"Hi, Aunt Peggy" the boy trustingly clung to the woman.

"Thanks that you agreed to take care of him" said Sam.

"It's nothing" Skip smiled, lightly rubbing the bundle given to him by his wife. "I haven't forgotten that Peggy and I met thanks to you and Jessie. By the way, how is she?"

"Pretty good, but isn't allowed to get up until the delivery."

"What is it?" the little Norville asked suddenly.

"You'll know it when you go to school" Mrs. Jones assured him.

"Okay, I must go now" Mr. Rogers kissed his son's cheek and stroked his unruly hair. "Bye, Shaggy. Remember what I promised you if you're good."

After that, he went out, closing the door behind him.

"Daddy, let go" there was a small voice suddenly.

Shaggy clung to Mrs. Jones a bit harder and wove his tiny fingers in her blond hair.

"It is ghost!" he squeaked, scared.

You must know that the little Norville was terribly afraid of all ghosts and monsters, since one night he'd climbed out of his crib and toddled to his parents' bedroom. Unluckily for him, Mr. and Mrs. Rogers had just been watching a horror movie. When the toddler, unaware of anything, had entered the room, the first thing he'd seen was a monster on the TV screen. Jessica and Samuel until the morning had had a problem with calming down their frightened, crying son.

"Calm down, dear, it's only Freddy" Aunt Peggy laughed.

"Fweddy?" Shaggy repeated.

Uncle Skip unfolded the towel a bit. It turned out there was a little, blond-haired boy, still a bit wet after the bath, in it.

"This is Freddy" the man said.

"Who this boy?" Freddy asked hesitantly, pointing to Shaggy.

"This is Norville, your new friend" his mom explained. "He'll stay with us for a few days."

"I am Saggy, Aunt Peggy" the little Norville announced.

x

A week later, Peggy, while cleaning after lunch, heard the doorbell. She calmly wiped her hands clean and went to open it. On the porch stood Samuel, smiling from ear to ear.

"It's over" he said cheerfully. "There were no complications. The baby is healthy, she's 55 centimeters long and she weighs 3 kilograms."

"Congratulations" Peggy smiled. "How is Jessie?"

"Just fine. She told me to bring Shaggy. Where is he?"

"A moment ago, Skip took him and Freddy to the garden. He said he was going to teach them play football. Wait a minute, I'll call them right away..."

"No need to do it, I'll go there myself and take Norville. Once again, thanks that you took care of him. I hope he behaved well."

"Well? Why, he's a little angel. Drop by to visit us as often as possible."

* * *

**PS – Reviews are welcome.**

**VM**


	2. The girls

**Hi!**

**I've just recovered from a nasty writer's block so - welcome in chapter two. I warn you right now that you'll have to wait for the next chapter to have Scooby and the mystery introduced. This chapter was an excuse to investigate the so-called baby talk and practice writing it down.**

**Enjoy!**

**VerMa**

* * *

It was a beautiful summer day. A large, multicolored ball flew over the low fence and landed in a neighboring garden. This was nothing new as the four-year-old Shaggy Rogers and a year younger Freddy Jones quite often happened to throw the ball into the neighbors' gardens. This time, however, the garden into which the toy fell was behind a beautiful, big house, belonging to Mr. and Mrs. Blake – the owners of a rapidly growing cosmetic company and also the richest of local people. Rumor had it they both were haughty and rude so no wonder that Jessica Rogers didn't want to meet them. Unfortunately, she had to get back the ball; otherwise, both her son and the little Freddy would certainly start crying so loud that half of the district could hear them. Oh, no. Anything but that. The woman walked up to the fence and peered to the other side. Unluckily, the ball fell quite far away and there was no way to get it back without the neighbors' help.

Moments later, out of the large house came a rather short, petite woman, leading a little girl by the hand. Both of them wore light white and pink dresses, white hats and pink sandals, and both of them were red-haired, just like two squirrels.

"Mommy, look, a balloon!" the girl pointed to the ball, lost by the boys.

"It's not a balloon, darling, it's a ball" Mommy explained calmly.

"We play?"

"No, because it's not our ball."

"But I want!" the kid insisted.

"Excuse me" spoke Mrs. Rogers, somewhat encouraged by the gentle tone which the red-haired woman had used towards the girl "my son and his friend accidentally threw their ball to your garden. Can you give it back to us?"

"See, sweetheart? It's a ball of these boys" the neighbor said to her daughter. "Come on, we'll return it" she added, picking up the toy and walking to the fence.

"Thank you" Jessica smiled. "One more second, and those two would start wailing like two patrol cars."

"What an interesting comparison" the redheaded woman remarked and held out her hand. "Please forgive me, I haven't introduced myself. Elizabeth Blake."

"Jessica Rogers" Jessica shook her neighbor's hand. "You are... different than I've heard" she added after a moment.

"Oh, I've guessed it" Mrs. Blake sighed. "Rumors don't tend to be kind. Especially when they're spread by an embittered former employee, fired for attempting fraud..."

At this point, sniffling could be heard.

"Ball..." the neighbor's disappointed daughter watched Shaggy and Freddy, chasing their toy they'd just gotten back.

"Daphne, we can't take the ball away from the boys" her mom explained. "Come on, we'll go to the swing."

"Ball...!" the little Daphne was already on the verge of tears.

Mrs. Rogers made an immediate decision.

"Come to us" she said. "Daphne will play with the boys and we'll talk."

"Thank you" Elizabeth smiled brightly.

Since then, Shaggy, Freddy and Daphne spent the days mostly in the Blakes' garden where the little Daphne had her own playground – swings, a sandpit, slides, a merry-go-round and even a small trampoline. When winter came, Mr. Jones and Mr. Blake started taking the kids to a nearby hill which was just great for sledding. And upon the spring's arriving, the three of them could finally try out the toy bikes they'd gotten for Christmas (it was Mrs. Rogers' brother, Albert, who had played the Santa Claus role but only the adults had known that).

And so, a year passed and summer came again. July 31, the heat in the city was purely merciless. However, it did not bother Shaggy, Freddy and Daphne who, dressed in sleeveless shirts and in shorts, raced on their bikes near the Rogers' home.

"Now thewe!" Freddy lisped, pointing to the street intersecting with the one where Shaggy and Daphne lived.

"Okay! Last one by the tree is a loser!" Shaggy shouted, strongly pressing the pedals and dashing off almost immediately.

The tree turned out to be farther than they thought. When Shaggy and Freddy, who had been fiercely fighting for the lead, began to puff and wheeze with exhaustion, Daphne suddenly accelerated and overtook them both.

"I'm fihst! I win!" she exclaimed in triumph, watching the breathless boys approaching her in a true snail's pace.

Suddenly, a heavy rain started pouring down from the sky. The kids left their bikes under the tree and ran onto the porch of the nearest house. Soon, the door opened and a tall woman, who wore a knee-long blue dress, stood in the threshold.

"What are you doing outside in such a storm, poor dears?" she asked with concern, letting the three of them inside. "Ah, who cares now... Come in quick, you must warm up."

Daphne and the boys were swiftly dried, wrapped in blankets and seated on a big, soft couch. Then the hostess – by the way, a young and pretty person with shoulder-long, dark brown hair, a kind, round, freckled face and a funny, slightly upturned nose, on which she wore glasses with thin, rectangular lenses – handed each one of them a cup of tea and put a large plate of biscuits on a rectangular, low table. Then, a tiny, dark-haired girl, who had been sitting at a small table in the corner of the room and drawing something eagerly, got up from her chair, ran up to the Nice Lady (as Shaggy called her in his thoughts) and handed her a piece of paper.

"Fow you" she said proudly.

"What a lovely picture. Thank you, darling" the woman hugged the girl.

"Who is this?" Freddy asked.

"It's my daughter, Velma" the Nice Lady explained, putting paper and crayons on the longer table. "Tell me the names of your parents and draw something for them. I'll call them and tell them not to be worried for you."

x

While the children were busy with drawing, the woman opened the phone book, lying on a shelf in the hallway, dialed the Blakes' number and put the receiver to her ear.

"The Blakes' residence, how can I help you?" spoke a male voice soon after.

"My name is Alice Dinkley" the woman introduced herself. "Can I speak to Mr. Blake?"

"Please wait a minute" her interlocutor pressed a button.

After a while, there was another voice on the line:

"Hello, this is George Blake."

"My name is Alice Dinkley" Alice repeated just in case. "Your daughter is in my house."

"Daphne!" Mr. Blake screamed in terror. "How much do you want for her?" he asked nervously.

"You misunderstood me" Mrs. Dinkley told him calmly. "I found her on the porch, soaked to the skin. Right now, she is playing with my daughter, the Rogers boy and the Jones boy."

"I'm sorry, madam" George Blake sounded a bit embarrassed. "How can I return the favor?"

"It would be nice if you let Daphne stay with us a little longer" Alice replied. "My husband will drive her home later. What do you say?"

"Fine" George agreed.

Conversations with Mrs. Rogers and Mr. Jones went without unnecessary misunderstandings. Probably because Alice was smart and didn't have the habit of repeating the mistakes she'd made once; this applied especially to unfortunate use of words.

When she returned to the room, the three younger children were peeking over the shoulder of the Rogers boy... wait, what was his name? Norman? No. Norbert? No, it wasn't it as well...

"Norville?" when the boy looked up, the woman realized she'd just said his name out loud. Well, at least now there was no way to make a mistake. "What are you drawing?" she asked to hide her embarrassment.

"Mom and Dad, and Maggie, and me" the boy listed in one breath.

"Who is Maggie?"

"My little sister."

"And my mommy has a baby" Velma announced proudly.

Her mom sat beside her on the floor and hugged her, trying not to laugh out loud.

"My little silly dear" she said when she managed to regain the control of her voice "we must wait for the baby a little longer."

"It is a boy oh a gihl?" Daphne wanted to know.

"A girl. Vellie, darling, tell us, what will be your little sister's name?"

"Maddie."

At one point, Shaggy noticed that a man had entered the room and begun creeping up to the Nice Lady. The man wasn't as tall as Mr. Rogers, Mr. Blake or even Mr. Jones – but in the eyes of a five-year-old boy, he looked like a giant. The effect of horror was intensified by the fact that the stranger had a thick mustache and big glasses – plus, he was dripping with water.

"AAAAH!" Shaggy jumped to his feet, dodged the Mustache Man and rushed outside.

A few minutes later, being completely wet, he ran into his house's kitchen.

"MOM!" he yelled, hiding under the table.

"What happened, honey?" Mrs. Rogers pulled her son out of his hiding place and hugged him.

"Dad must go to this girl, Velma, and her mom!"

"Why?"

"There's a thug! He's so tall! And he has mustache and gra... glasses! He can hurt Velma and her mom, and... and there's also Fwe... Freddy and Daphne!"

After a moment, the phone rang so Mrs. Rogers left the kitchen to answer it. Upon realizing that he was left alone, Shaggy quickly ran after his mom. When he caught up with her, she was talking to someone who was on the other end of the line:

"He's already home, don't worry about him... He said something about a thug; is everything alr... What?" at this point, Mrs. Rogers laughed. "Yes, I'll tell him" she added when she'd calmed down a bit. "Thank you, we sure will come someday. Goodbye" having said that, she hung up, looked at her son and shook her head. "Oh, you silly" she chuckled "the 'thug' that you saw was Mr. Dinkley. Little Velma's daddy."

x

It was three years since that day; during this time, a few quite big changes occurred. First of all, on August 30 1987, Velma's little sister was born. A year later, Shaggy turned six and went to the first grade. The next spring, Velma's fifth birthday was ruined by a clown who made confetti from the encyclopedia set given to her by Uncle Cosmo. At the end of the summer, the Blakes moved to a large mansion on the city outskirts and in September, Daphne and Freddy went to school. Finally, it came the time for the little Velma to begin learning in the Coolsville Elementary School. Her parents were very proud and excited about this but she herself didn't like the idea all that much.

"I don't want to go there" she whined while her mom was wrapping a scarf around her neck. "I want to be at home and play with Maddie and you."

"You can't play all your life, honey" her mom explained. "You also have to learn. That's what school is for: so the children could learn many new things."

"Can't I learn at home?" Velma tried to negotiate.

"You could" her dad, Gregory, replied "but at school, there are other children with whom you can have fun during the breaks."

"What if they tease me because I wear glasses?" Velma hesitantly looked at her parents.

Mrs. Dinkley looked straight in her elder daughter's eyes.

"Nothing bad will happen to you if you only stick close to Shaggy, Fred and Daphne" she said firmly.

"They'll be there, too?" Velma perked up.

"Of course" Alice smiled.

"Come on, Daddy!" Velma grabbed her father's hand and began pulling him toward the door. "Come on, we're going to school!"

At school, it wasn't bad except for the fact that until noon, Velma failed to spot Daphne and the boys. Since the weather was beautiful that day, during the big break all students went or (as for the first-graders) were taken to the school yard. Velma secretly separated herself from her class and went to search for her friends, as she'd begun to suspect that her parents had been simply bluffing to get her to go to school. She was so busy with looking for Daphne, Fred and Shaggy that before she realized it, she'd bumped into someone. It turned out that it was a tall, broad-shouldered boy with red, curly hair.

"Hey, girl, buy yourself a white cane if you can't see where you're going!" he snarled and in one motion of a big hand took the glasses off of the girl's nose.

"Give me back my glasses!" Velma demanded.

The redhead, however, grabbed one of her short braids and pulled it so hard that she howled in pain.

"Leave her alone, Red" a girl's voice commanded.

"Make me" Red snickered, pulling Velma's hair once again.

"If you insist..." the girl sighed. "Fred! Shaggy!" she screamed, grabbed the glasses and pulled Velma aside.

The boys threw themselves on Red and pinned him to the ground.

"Now apologize" Fred ordered.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry" Red grumbled, shaking off both of the smaller boys, then he got up, dusted his clothes and walked away, muttering under his breath.

"Are you okay?" Shaggy asked, leaning over Velma.

"Yes. Thank you, guys" the girl replied.

"It's nothing" Daphne smiled. "But don't you ever walk alone again. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

* * *

**Of course, it would be nice to get some reviews! :)**

**VM**


	3. The puppy and the night frights

**Hello! :)**

**Welcome to the third chapter. As I promised earlier, Scooby and the beginning of the mystery are introduced in it. I won't write much in the foreword, though, because this chapter is quite long. So...**

**Enjoy!**

**VerMa**

* * *

A day after Fred's ninth birthday, July 6, 1992, he and the girls were sitting in the park under an old oak, where any moment the Rogers siblings were to come with their pet, which they'd gotten only two days earlier.

"I wonder what this pet of Shaggy and Maggie looks like" Fred spoke suddenly. "Maybe it's a parrot?"

"Or a small, fluffy kitty?" Velma cut in timidly.

"I think it'll be a dog" Daphne stated confidently. "Otherwise, they wouldn't want us to meet in the park."

"Hi, guys!" Shaggy called out, running toward his friends. "Like, meet our new buddy" he added proudly, pointing to a large, brown puppy with black spots.

"I told you so" Daphne triumphed.

Fred ignored her.

"What's his name?" he asked, walking over to the dog and gently stroking his head.

"Rooby Roo" said the puppy.

Velma squealed and quickly hid behind Daphne.

"He can talk! That's so cool!" Fred exclaimed.

"Oh, Fred, don't be naïve" Daphne snorted. "I'm sure it's Shaggy doing his ventriloquist trick again."

"Not this time" Shaggy shook his head. "Like, Scooby really can talk. Like, every dog in his family can."

Meanwhile, Maggie walked over to Velma, still hiding behind Daphne's back, and took her hand.

"Don't be afraid" she said. "Scooby is the sweetest puppy in the world. He won't hurt you. Come on."

Velma allowed Maggie to lead her to the dog, then reached out and hesitantly stroked his snout. The animal reacted by knocking her to the ground and crushing her under his own weight.

"Jinkies! Help!" the scared Velma screamed, trying to get out from under the puppy's paws.

"Scooby!" Maggie cried out indignantly.

"Get off Velma!" Shaggy ordered, pulling the dog's collar.

Scooby didn't listen. He thoroughly sniffed the girl and a moment later, he began licking her face.

"Jinkies! Stop it! It's tickling!" Velma cried with a laugh. "Enough now! Enough, you hear? Stop it!"

"Okay, Scooby, now it, like, really is enough" Shaggy said, with Fred and Maggie's help pulling the puppy away from the girl.

"Ry?" Scooby didn't understand. (_Tr.: Why?_)

"Because if Velma speaks as much as a moment ago, it means that something serious is going on" Daphne explained, putting her giggling friend to her feet and brushing the grass off her.

"Ri ron't ret rit" the dog admitted. (_Tr.: I don't get it._)

"It's okay. You soon will" Shaggy reassured him.

Contrary to these predictions, Scooby never really understood Velma's quietness. This, however, did not stop him from giving the girl his friendship – which, by the way, turned out to be mutual.

Another thing that Scooby (and not only he) couldn't understand, was how the taciturn, quiet and shy Velma could have a sister as talkative, frisky and feisty as Madelyn, who in early September went to the kindergarten. Velma, when Daphne asked her about it, shrugged and admitted:

"I have no idea. I just know Mom once told Dad she needed to go back to work because Maddie asked far too many questions."

x

It was Saturday, October 3. That evening, during a walk, Shaggy and Scooby came near the school. It wasn't their favorite place even during the day, so it's hardly surprising that they felt uncomfortable, looking at the empty, dark building. No, wait, I stand corrected – there was a bright light in one of the classrooms. The boy and the puppy looked at each other, wondering what to do. They could come closer and peer inside through the window or run off.

After a moment, something big, black and thin-legged passed by the window.

"Rot's rat?" Scooby asked. (_Tr.: What's that?_)

"I don't know" Shaggy whispered back "and, like, I really don't want to find out. Quick, buddy, let's get out of here before it notices us. And if tomorrow, during the evening walk, I start going toward the school, then, like, do something for me."

"Rot?" (_Tr.: What?_)

"Pull me in the opposite direction."

"Rokay."

The next day, they told their friends about their adventure. As you've probably guessed, Daphne didn't believe the story of a strange black creature. She just rolled her blue eyes and scowled in disapproval.

"Monsters don't exist" she said wryly. "It was probably only the janitor."

"The janitor is ill" Velma remarked. "The boys couldn't have seen him."

"I know what it was" Fred announced triumphantly. "It was an alien from the planet Gondar. _National Exaggerator_ writes that Gondarians have sent their scouts to Earth to..."

"I'll be brutally honest with you, Fred" Daphne cut him off. "Aliens don't exist either."

"Then, like, what did we see?" Shaggy asked.

"There's only one way to find out" said Fred. "We have to go there tonight."

"Like, you know what, Scooby" Shaggy nervously glanced at his dog "I was actually afraid that one of them would say this."

In the evening, the kids went out under the excuse of a walk with Scooby (it was true to some extent, by the way) and went to the school. To say the whole truth, I must add that Shaggy and Scooby had to be dragged there by Daphne and Fred.

"This is where you saw this alien?" Fred asked, pointing to the only lit window.

"Reah" Scooby confirmed.

"Oh, Fred!" the exasperated Daphne cried out. "I've told you that aliens don't exist!"

"Then what did Shaggy and Scooby see, Miss Smarty-Pants?"

"I don't know, but it certainly wasn't an alien!"

Velma, looking at her quarreling friends with wide-open, frightened eyes, clung to Scooby. As for Shaggy, he cleared his throat and said timidly:

"Uh... guys..."

As was to be expected, it didn't draw anybody's attention.

"_It wasn't an alien_, huh?" Fred screamed in rage. "You know? I think Gondarians washed your brain so you would forget about them!"

"It's rather your brain that got washed out of the rest of reason!" Daphne shouted.

"SHUT UP, WILL YOU?" Shaggy yelled as loud as he could. This time, Fred and Daphne became silent and looked at him. "Instead of arguing, you better, like, just have a look on this thing!"

Fred and Daphne, without another word exchanged glances, shrugged, walked up to the window, stood on their toes and peered inside.

"Ewww!" Daphne groaned in disgust, looking away and standing back on whole feet.

"Wowzers!" the delighted Fred cried out.

"What is it?" Velma asked, fruitlessly trying to reach the windowsill.

"Believe me, it'll be better for you to NOT see it" Daphne muttered. "The mere thought about it makes me sick..."

Velma, however, didn't stop trying to get a look through the window, so Shaggy helped her up. Moments later, the little girl squeaked in fear, jumped to the ground and clung to Daphne.

"It has to be a Gondarian" Fred announced happily. "It looks exactly like the creature from the photo in _National Exaggerator_."

x

"Look, I thought about it" Daphne said on Monday, having met up with her friends during the big break. "This... THING that we saw, it looked like a giant spider, right?"

"Yes" the other replied in unison.

"Now, attention: it was fake."

"How do you know?" Fred inquired.

"Think for a moment, Sherlock Jones. There are no such big spiders."

"Of course there are! _National Exaggerator_ writes that..."

"Could you finally leave this tabloid alone?"

"What...!" Fred cried out indignantly. "_National Exaggerator_ is a serious newspaper!"

"Never mind" Daphne sighed. "Anyway, there certainly are no such big spiders ON EARTH."

"Like, I hope you're right, Daphne" Shaggy said.

"Ree roo" Scooby added.

"I tell you that thing was real" Fred insisted. "If it's not an alien, then it certainly was mutated by Gondarians or by Red Herring. Am I right, Velma?"

"I'll ask my dad" the girl replied evasively. "He knows a lot."

When she came home after school, Mom told her that Dad was in the workshop and shouldn't be disturbed.

"But I just wanted to ask him a question" Velma argued.

"Certainly not now. Dad is very busy" her mom replied firmly, putting an oven-pan with some meat in the oven and closing the door. "Now, go and get Maddie. I'll read you a story."

Velma sighed and slightly shook her head. When she was two years old, Mom started reading her fairy tales in the afternoons – and she still kept the ritual alive. Perhaps because of Madelyn, who in turn had a habit of climbing into Mom's lap and touching all the pictures, not caring too much about whether or not her hands were clean. Frankly, Velma was reluctant to admit it to herself but she still liked to listen to her mom who would change her voice, depending on whose lines she was reading... Okay, let's get back to the point.

"MADDIE!" Velma yelled toward the stairs leading to the upper floor, where the bedrooms were. "IT'S STORY TIME!"

Several minutes later, Mr. Dinkley peered into the room where the girls were listening to the tale.

"Allie, darling, have you seen my ball joints by any chance?" he asked.

"Your workshop, your mess" Mrs. Dinkley calmly pushed back Madelyn's fingers and turned the page in the book. "If every now and then you cleaned it up a little bit, maybe you wouldn't lose your stuff so often" she added, looking at her husband with a mocking smile.

"You missed this time, my dear" the man retorted. "I bought these parts on Friday, three days ago, if you prefer. I couldn't have lost them even if I had a total chaos in the workshop. The conclusion is obvious. Someone stole them."

"Greg, you're losing things even when there's perfect order around" the woman waved her hand dismissively. "Instead of standing here and bothering me, you better go back to your workshop and search it thoroughly again."

"Mom" Velma spoke, watching her father leave "can I go with Dad and help him?"

"Don't you want to hear the rest of the tale?"

"Mom!" the girl moaned. "I already can read! I'm eight years old!"

"Well, in that case, go help your dad. Just remember, no tinkering and getting dirty with the grease."

x

"Oh, it's you, Elfkin! Come in" Mr. Dinkley grinned upon seeing his elder daughter.

"_Elfkin?_" Velma looked around with a puzzled look on her face.

"I meant you" her dad explained. "Elves are small, smart and helpful, just like you. Let me guess: Mom sent you to help me look for these hapless parts, right?"

"Not really. I wanted to come here myself. Mom just said that I can't tinker and get dirty with the grease."

"It really is in her style" the man laughed. "Now, take a look at this image and check all the cracks for such parts, and I'll search the drawers once again."

For a few minutes, there was silence. Finally, Velma spoke shyly:

"Dad..."

"What is it, Elfkin? Did you find anything?"

"No, but I want ask you a question. Are spiders big?"

"It depends on the species. Some are so small that they can't be seen without a microscope, and others are real giants."

"And are there as big as my hand?"

"Yes."

"And as big as your hand?"

"Maybe, but there's very few of them."

"And as big as a cat or a dog?"

"No, definitely not."

"This means that there are no as big as a car either?"

"No. Why are you inquiring me?"

"Out of curiosity. One of our school spiders has probably grown recently and I wanted to know how big it can get..."

"Are you afraid of it?" Gregory closely looked at his daughter.

"A bit" the girl admitted.

"Just like your mom" the man smiled with amusement.

"Really?"

"A SPIDER! AAAAAAH!" came a terrified scream all of a sudden.

"Come and see it yourself" the man took his daughter's hand and they both ran into the house.

In the hallway, they almost bumped into Madelyn, who said with utmost seriousness:

"Mom is in the kitchen, screaming. I think she didn't like the story."

Velma giggled and Gregory grabbed the hand of his younger daughter and pulled both of the girls into the kitchen. There, they saw Alice, curled up on a chair, screaming very loudly and pointing to a spider, walking across the table. Velma let go of her father's hand, ran around the table, climbed on the chair and clung to her mother.

"Gregory, take it away!" the woman demanded, being already on the verge of hysteria.

Her husband took the creature on his hand, moved it to the external sill, closed the window and turned around.

"It's over, you can stop trembling for your lives" he said, looking at his wife and his elder daughter with amusement.

"Very funny" Alice snorted.

"Mom, why you were afraid?" Madelyn asked.

"I don't like spiders" the woman murmured, blushing in embarrassment.

"Why?"

"I don't know."

"Why?"

"I just don't know. Don't ask any more questions."

"Why?"

"Because I'm in a bad mood."

"Why?"

"Because there was a spider and I'm afraid of them."

"Why?"

"I'll go crazy!" Mrs. Dinkley moaned, clutching her head.

"Why?" Madelyn asked innocently.

"Come on, girls" said Mr. Dinkley. "Let's play tag in the garden."

"Yay!" Madelyn cheered. "You're it!" she screamed, hitting Velma's shoulder and ran out of the kitchen, followed by her big sister.

"Thank you, dear" said Alice, once the door closed behind the girls.

"You're welcome" Gregory grinned and slightly messed his wife's hair.

He was about to add something but suddenly, there was a loud cry. The man and the woman exchanged glances.

"Maddie" they said simultaneously and ran outside.

x

"So, like, what did your dad say?" Shaggy asked the next day.

"There are no spiders as big as the one we saw" Velma replied. "There aren't even ones as big as Scooby."

"Rucky ror rus!" said the puppy. (_Tr. Lucky for us!_)

"See, Fred?" Daphne triumphed. "Your theory turned out to be a total nonsense."

"Velma's dad doesn't have to be always right" Fred remarked.

"But he's an adult and knows much more than you do" Daphne retorted.

"I, actually, agree with Fred" said a voice.

Shaggy and Scooby turned around and saw a rather short, brown-haired boy.

"Stop joking, Jeff" Daphne waved her hand dismissively. "Everyone knows Fred's theories always fail."

"But this time, it's different" Jeff said with a very serious expression which strangely contrasted with his chubby face. "This spider, of which you've talked, really has mutated."

"I told you so!" Fred exclaimed in joy.

"That's absurd" Daphne muttered, rolling her eyes. "How on earth could the spider mutate out of itself?"

"I already told you that it was mutated by Gondarians" Fred replied in a condescending voice.

"And I already told you that aliens don't exist!" Daphne cried out in exasperation.

"So it's probably a trick of Red Herring's!"

"Sure! Just like when you thought Red stole your gloves and then, it turned out that you'd left them at home! Grow up because you no longer are a five-year-old!"

"Are they always arguing like that?" Jeff asked softly.

"Not always but quite often. I've already, like, gotten used to it" Shaggy muttered in response. "Like, do you know anything else about this creature?"

"Just that it's very dangerous and you should stay away from it."

"Zoinks! In that case, I can promise you right now that Scooby and I will always, like, run away from it as fast as it's, like, possible."

"And re'll rake Relma rith rus" Scooby said, licking the girl's cheek. (_Tr.: And we'll take Velma with us._)

* * *

**PS - It would be nice of you to leave a review! :) If you do, let me know what was your favourite part... or what do I have to improve. Do it politely, though!**

**VM**


	4. Holding out for a hero

**Hello, readers,**

**I'm presenting you the fourth chapter of the story of the first investigation of Scooby and his gang. As you (hopefully) will soon see, things kind of get a little complicated. But why should I write much, if you can just read it yourselves!**

**Enjoy!**

**VerMa**

* * *

The things that happened three days later, on Friday, were to stay in Scooby and Shaggy's memories for a long time. Mainly because, along with the rest of their gang, they had several close encounters with the spider-like creature against which Jeff had warned them. But wait – it would be better if I told you first things first, wouldn't it? So, this is how it was...

During one of the morning breaks, in one of the school corridors, Red Herring's terrified scream rang out. Several curious first graders ran to that spot to see what had happened. Moments later, they came back, chased by a giant spider.

"It's the monster! Run!" Jeff shouted, then grabbed Daphne's hand and fled, dragging the girl with him.

This scream caused panic in the school. The teachers did what they could do to control the crowd of frightened pupils but with little success. However, they eventually did manage to direct the kids to the exit door, near which stood Fred, Velma, Scooby and the Rogers siblings.

"Zoinks! Like, run for your lives before they, like, trample us!" Shaggy yelled and took off. Fred and Maggie immediately ran after him. Meanwhile, Scooby squatted down and said:

"Rop ron, Relma!" then, when the girl was already sitting on his back, he hastily followed the rest of their friends. (_Tr.: Hop on, Velma!_)

Once they were all outside, Fred called his friends to him with a gesture and panted:

"Is everyone okay?"

"Like, I sure am" Shaggy puffed.

"Ree roo" the breathless Scooby reported, lying down on the ground so Velma could get off his back. (_Tr.: We too._)

"And me" Daphne gasped, trying to catch her breath. "Jeff... you can let go... of my hand now..."

"Oh..." the boy murmured, blushing to his ears. "Right. Sorry."

"Alright" said Fred happily "this means we can go back to school."

"WHAT?" the others looked at him wide-eyed.

"Like, let's make something clear, Fred" Shaggy said. "Like, a big, mutant spider, which has probably devoured Red Herring, is prowling in the school, and you want to, like, go back there?"

"Sure. We have to solve the mystery."

"What mystery?" Daphne asked.

"Was the spider mutated by Red, or was it done by Gondarians?"

Velma, Scooby, Maggie and Jeff exchanged puzzled glances, Shaggy meaningfully tapped his forehead and Daphne shook her head.

"Here we go again..." she sighed. "Freddy, it will be a miracle if I don't turn gray early because of you."

"What are you talking about?"

"First of all, I told you more than once that aliens don't exist."

"But the _National Exaggerator_..."

"I haven't finished. Second, if Red actually was responsible for it, he wouldn't have allowed the creature to devour him; and it seems that's what happened to him."

"That's no evidence" Fred insisted. "This thing could have turned against its creator..."

"Can you finally stop making these stupid theories?"

"Say what?" the offended Fred shouted.

Shaggy, who had already guessed how it would end, decided to intervene. He stood between his two friends, glowering at each other, pushed them apart to the distance of his outstretched arms and said sternly:

"Calm down, you two. Do all of your conversations have to end with a fight?"

"She started it!" Fred complained.

"I didn't! He was the one to start jabbering about aliens!" Daphne cried out.

"I don't care who started it. We can't stand here all day because either the monster will do to us the same thing it did to Red or a teacher will find us and tell our parents; and then, we'll get grounded for sure. In short, make a decision: are we solving the mystery, like Fred wants, or do we go home and let the police take care of the case?"

"Easy. We're solving the mystery" Fred and Daphne said simultaneously.

"Oh, joy" the unhappy Shaggy muttered.

"Great!" Maggie cheered. "We'll be catching thugs, like Dad!"

"Oh, no, no way. You go there" her elder brother said firmly, putting his hand on her shoulder and pointing to the road, leading to their house. At the same time, he whispered into her ear: "Like, prepare popcorn and a movie. Scooby and I will, like, come as soon as I convince them to NOT solve the mystery. And, like, take Jeff. I don't trust him."

"So you won't even walk me home?" the girl asked plaintively. "What kind of brother are you? I don't like you! Jeff, YOU will walk me home, right?"

"Uh..." the boy hesitated. "Well, okay" he agreed when he saw Daphne, talking about something with Fred. "They don't need me anyway" he muttered.

"So let's go" Maggie took his hand and pulled him toward her house. "And you, Shaggy, are in trouble!" she added while leaving.

"Finally" Shaggy muttered with relief a few minutes later, when his sister and Jeff disappeared around a corner.

Then, someone pulled his hand. Looking down, he saw Velma who was watching him intently.

"You're not really in trouble, are you?" it was more of a statement than a question.

Shaggy smiled at her and ruffled her fringe.

"No, I'm not" he admitted. "You're very smart" he added with admiration.

"No, that's not the reason..." the girl blushed. "It's just that I also have a sister... You think Daphne and Fred will stop arguing so often someday?"

"Sure. But until then, you, Scooby and I have to stick together and keep calming them down so they don't jump down each other's throats one day..."

"Fred, are you nuts?" Daphne's raised voice rang out suddenly. "We're not digging any tunnel!"

"Seems we should start right now" Velma remarked.

Shaggy nodded and they walked to their friends who were on the verge of another argument.

"What's, like, going on here?" Shaggy asked.

"Fred's just come up with another one of his stupid ideas" Daphne explained. "He figured that the quickest way to get into the school would be to dig a tunnel."

"Well, does anyone know a better way?" Fred asked.

"Yes. The door" Shaggy said.

"Unfortunately, there's a problem with that" Daphne sighed. "All of the doors are locked."

"I got it!" Fred snapped his fingers. "It's even simpler than my previous plan. Shaggy and Scooby will climb up to the roof, slip into the school and open the door for us from the inside."

"Like, forget it, dude" Shaggy said immediately. "Scooby and I aren't going to, like, climb on any roof."

"So we'll haul Velma there" Fred decided. "She's the lightest of us all, so it shouldn't be hard..."

"Get it out of your head" Daphne snapped. "It's too dangerous for her. If you're so brave, then climb there yourself."

"It's not necessary" Velma said suddenly. "Here's an open window."

"Way to go, girl" Fred praised her, with Scooby's help climbing onto the window sill. "Alright, I'll come in first and..."

"Watch out!" Shaggy hissed. "The principal's coming!"

Fred quickly slipped through the window into the school while Shaggy, Scooby and the girls hid in the nearby bushes. When the danger was over, Fred stuck his head out the window and in a stage whisper, he urged his friends:

"Come in quickly before he comes back. I'll pull you inside."

"Give me a leg-up, Scooby" Daphne requested. "Your turn, Velma" she added, once she'd gotten to the other side of the window.

The younger of the girls climbed onto the puppy's back and stood on her toes.

"I can't reach it" she remarked, disappointed.

"I'll help you" Shaggy said, lifting her as high as he could. "Have fun, detectives!" he added, when Fred and Daphne had pulled Velma inside.

"Wait! And you, where are you going?" Fred frowned.

"Home. Like, I don't know about you, but WE are not going to, like, risk a meeting with this creature. Right, Scooby?"

"Ro" the dog replied. (_Tr.: No._)

"Like, WHAT?" Shaggy screamed. "So far, we've always, like, been doing everything together!"

"I ron't reave Relma" Scooby announced, standing on his hind legs and trying to scramble onto the windowsill. (_Tr.: I won't leave Velma._)

"How sweet!" Daphne was touched.

Shaggy sighed heavily.

"Okay, like, you win, guys" he said, helping the puppy up, after which he jumped onto the windowsill and slipped into the room in which his friends were already. "But I have, like, a strange feeling this, like, won't end good."

"Since when are you such a doomsayer, buddy?" Fred asked, while the girls were unlocking the door with a hair clip.

"Since the moment when you and Daphne decided to solve the mystery."

"Stop whining, Shaggy. Nothing will happen to us if we're careful" Daphne spoke, opening the door leading to the hallway. "Now come on, boys. Let's go and find some clues."

Soon, when the whole gang was creeping down the hall on the first floor, something crunched under Daphne's boot. Velma squatted and looked at the mysterious glass shards, lying in a liquid.

"Jinkies" she said, pulling out a small piece of paper from the fluid "you've just found a clue, Daphne."

"What does the paper say?" Fred asked curiously.

"It's a strange name... I think it's a medicine. My mom certainly would know what it is..."

"But if she knew that you are here, she would get angry and make your dad take you home" Shaggy remarked.

"I know. That means we have to go to the library."

x

"What exactly are we looking for?" Daphne asked when Velma handed her a book.

"You and Fred check what that name from the paper means and I'll try to find out if we still have a chance to save Red..."

"What?" Fred's eyes widened. "Red is the meanest bully ever! Why do you want to save him?"

"He has a mom and a dad, too" Velma replied softly.

"True" Daphne admitted. "Even if Red behaves badly, we don't have to be the same. Come on, Fred, let's get to work."

"Like, what's our task?" asked Shaggy.

"Guard the door" Fred and Daphne ordered and bent over the book.

There was silence. A few minutes later, Velma looked up from the encyclopedia she was searching through.

"Did you find anything?" she asked.

"No" Fred and Daphne replied in unison.

"ZOINKS! This thing has found us!" Shaggy pointed to the monster which had just stood in the doorway he guarded.

"Run!" Scooby yelped, fleeing towards the second exit with Shaggy.

"They're right!" Fred screamed, grasping Daphne and Velma's hands and running away. "Let's get out of here!"

The kids ran around the school for a long time but the creature didn't mean to give up. At some point, Daphne stumbled and fell to the floor. She quickly jumped back to her feet and resumed running but the monster approached her faster and faster.

"Help!" the girl cried.

Fred who, along with the rest of the gang, had already hidden in an unlocked room, ran out into the corridor and pushed Daphne aside, into the arms of their friends who pulled her into the hideout. A split second later, the boy vanished in the creature's throat.

"FRED!" the remaining foursome yelled.

"Zoinks! Poor Fred!" Shaggy lamented. "Swallowed alive!"

"Swallowed? Wait!" Velma ran out of the room and sprinted down the corridor. The other three rushed after her.

Soon, they were back in the library. Velma ran up to the table, where she'd previously left an opened book – and squealed with delight.

"Jinkies, I remembered it right" she said. "Spiders are unable to swallow."

"So it means this monster is phony and Fred and Red are alive?" Daphne made sure.

"That's it" Velma confirmed. "We must save them."

"Do you have a plan how to do it?" Daphne asked.

Before Velma could say anything, Shaggy grabbed both of the girls by the hands and dragged them with him.

"Run!" yelled. "This thing, like, found us again!"

x

During the chase, someone tightly grabbed Velma from behind, put a hand on her mouth and dragged her in the direction opposite to that taken by Daphne, Shaggy and Scooby. The girl tried to break free but nonetheless, the attacker effortlessly pulled her into a small room and tied her arms and legs. Then, they forced her to swallow a handful of some pills, threw her into a corner, put two open bottles near her and left, closing the door behind them.

For the next few minutes, the girl, sore and slightly dazed after she'd slammed her head against the wall, didn't move. As the time went by, she felt weirder and weirder. She felt dizzy and sleepy, and some black flakes seemed to swirl in front of her eyes. Then, she heard Scooby calling her name but his voice seemed to come from so far away that she didn't know whether or not this was a hallucination. She asked for help anyway but on the occasion, she discovered she wasn't able to speak as clearly as usual. Soon after, everything went dark.

x

At one point, Scooby realized that Velma had disappeared. Having assumed that Shaggy and Daphne could perfectly take care of themselves, the dog went back to find his little friend. She couldn't be far away. He was sure of it because he smelled her scent quite clearly. There was only the question why he didn't hear cries for help. He pricked up his ears, thinking that the girl's voice could have been muffled by a gag, but he didn't hear anything except for the beating of his heart... no, wait, there was also someone's breathing. The puppy followed the sound and found with a slight surprise that Velma's smell, mixed with a strange, sweet odor, came from the same direction. The trail stopped suddenly in the middle of the corridor.

"Relma, rere rare rou?" the dog whined plaintively. (_Tr.: Velma, where are you?_)

A moment later, his sensitive ears picked up some gibberish. Only after a while did he manage to distinguish the three most important words. These were:

"Scooby... help me..."

"Relma!" Scooby called out joyfully, scratching the door from behind which he'd heard the voice. When it didn't work, he stood on his hind legs, grabbed the door knob with his teeth and, turning it, tried to open the door. Still nothing.

Then, the pup got a feeling that someone or something was watching him. Having glanced back, he saw the monster prowling in school. It scared him so much that he fled. Soon, through an open door, he ran outside. To his surprise, the creature immediately left him alone.

"Scooby!" a voice cried out.

"Reddy!" the happy dog knocked the boy to the ground and started licking his face.

"I'm glad to see you, too" Fred chuckled. "But get off me. We have to save Shaggy and the girls... and then, we'll look for Red."

"Rot rabout re ronster?" Scooby asked. (_Tr.: What about the monster?_)

"Principal Abbott promised to help us catch it" Fred explained pointing to a graying, middle-aged man, talking to a young, broad-shouldered PE coach.

A few seconds later, the two teachers walked up to the boy and the puppy.

"Good news, Fred" said Mr. Abbott. "Mr. Bates has just joined us."

"That's right" the coach confirmed. "I already have plan on how defeat this monstrosity. We'll take two mountaineering ropes from the storage and..."

x

Shaggy and Daphne, wanting to catch their breaths, hid in a niche formed by the lockers, standing on both sides of the door of a classroom.

"Oh, no!" the horrified Daphne screamed.

"Like, what happened?" Shaggy asked.

"We lost Velma and Scooby!"

"Don't worry. Like, Scooby won't let anything bad happen to Velma."

Daphne was about to say something, when suddenly, the giant jaws of the monster emerged from behind the corner. The children screamed with fear and ran off. Unfortunately, it soon turned out that the corridor, which they'd taken, had a dead end.

"We're trapped!" Daphne quickly backed away to the wall.

"So what now?" Shaggy, trembling with fear, moved closer to her and embraced her shoulders.

"I don't know!" the girl, being on the verge of tears, closed her eyes and clung to the boy. "But I don't want to look at it!"

The jaws of the giant spider were now only half a meter from the kids' faces.

"Scooby Doo, where are you?" Shaggy shouted desperately, squeezing his eyes shut.

Soon, there was a dull thump. Upon hearing the sound, Daphne and Shaggy, huddled together, opened their eyes. The monster, tied with ropes, lay on the floor and next to it stood four persons – a brown puppy with black spots, a blond-haired boy and two men.

"Fred! Scooby!" Daphne and Shaggy cried out joyfully, embracing their friends.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're all right!" Daphne exclaimed, throwing herself on Fred's neck. "I didn't have time to thank you that you saved me!"

"It's nothing" Fred grinned.

"No, it's not nothing. If you died because of me, I'd never forgive myself that I'd argued with you so often..."

"So now, you believe that monsters really exist?" the boy asked hopefully.

"You must be kidding. I still don't believe in monsters but I can promise you that I won't yell at you anymore because of that."

"Sorry to interrupt you" the principal spoke "but can any of you explain what's this all about?"

* * *

**What more can I say? Feel welcome to review - it doesn't hurt if you don't hold your wrists in the wrong position! :)**

**VM**


	5. The Sleeping Beauty

**Welcome, you all who are reading this! :)**

**You're now facing ****the ****fifth, penultimate, chapter of my story of the first investigation of Scooby's gang. If you've read at least the previous chapter, you know that I haven't revealed who was responsible for all the commotion and what's more, I left Velma in a not so nice situation. Both of these threads are taken up in this chapter. So, without further ado ...**

**Enjoy!**

**VerMa**

* * *

Daphne, Fred and Shaggy huddled and for some time, they conferred in whispers. Meanwhile, Scooby – still thinking about Velma who needed help – whimpered, jumped, whined and pulled their clothes to get their attention but the only thing he achieved was Shaggy pushing him away and saying:

"Like, not now, Scooby Doo."

"Where should we start?" Daphne asked at last, glancing at the two teachers.

"Revealing the culprits would be best" the coach suggested.

"I'll do it!" Fred ran to the defeated pseudo-monster and undid the zipper located on the ventral side of the beast's body. "I escaped this way" he explained, seeing the puzzled glances of his friends and then, he pulled off the black cloth that covered the frame, made of arched metal rods, and the egg-shaped metal capsule, occupying most of the space in the pseudo-spider's head. Finally, he slowly put his finger on the button, located on the capsule. "And now" he said solemnly "I have the honor to present to you the culprit, better known as..." at this point, he paused and pressed the button. "Red Herring!" he announced triumphantly, when the capsule opened, exposing to everyone a stocky boy with red, curly hair.

"Daphne!" came someone's sudden cry. After a while, up to the girl ran Jeff. "Daphne... Daphne, I was looking for you everywhere..." he panted. "Are you okay?"

"Where have you been so long, you loser?!" the annoyed Red yelled.

Daphne frowned and looked at Jeff.

"Is there something that we don't know and that you'd like to tell us?" she asked sternly.

The boy blushed up to his ears.

"It... it was my idea" he confessed quietly. "I wanted... Wait, what's up with Scooby?"

All eyes turned to the puppy, running around like crazy and howling desperately.

"Scooby, like, what's going on?" Shaggy worried.

"Relma! Relma!" the dog whimpered.

"Right! Where is she?" Fred looked around.

"In a place from where she can't meddle into somebody else's businesses" Red spoke.

"Where exactly?" the principal inquired.

"I won't tell" the redhead replied cheekily.

"Ri row!" Scooby said. "Rollow ree, rick!" (_Tr.: I know! Follow me, quick!_)

"Go find the kid, Nick" the principal told the coach. "I'll keep an eye on these two scamps."

"Yes, Mr. Abbott, sir" the younger teacher replied and ran after the dog.

Soon they came to door, from before which the monster had scared Scooby away. The man turned the doorknob.

"Locked" he said. "Is it a joke or what?"

The dog just whined in response, scratching at the door.

"Do you mean that it was these cunning rascals who locked the door?" Mr. Bates guessed. The puppy nodded. "Alright, in that case stand back because I must break it down."

Once they managed to enter the room, Scooby without hesitation headed towards one of the corners, where lay a bound, dark-haired, freckled little girl with glasses. She was very pale, her eyes were closed and she wasn't moving. The dog licked her cheek but she didn't react. Meanwhile, the coach, sensing a suffocating, sweetish smell in the air, quickly opened the window wide. Having looked around the room, he saw two open bottles, containing some clear liquid, near the unconscious girl. Having glanced at the labels, he quickly stoppered the two vessels and leaned over the girl to check her pulse and breathing. Then, without a word, he wrapped the kid in his sweatshirt, took her in his arms and ran to the principal's office.

x

Meanwhile, in the said office, the principal carried on his own investigation.

"Right, we know that the 'monster' was in fact a mechanical toy and the initiator of all this mess was Jeff; but why did you do this all?"

"I wanted Daphne to notice me" Jeff mumbled, blushing again. "Red only helped me..."

"Why?"

"Because he's working for ali..." Fred began but Daphne put her hand over his mouth.

"Not now, Freddy" she told him.

"This sissy needed someone good with mechanics" Red shrugged dismissively "and, in return for the help, he gave me a scooter."

"Where did you get the parts to build this quasi-monster?"

"We found most of them on the school grounds" the redhead replied "and as for the ball joints, connecting the legs to the body, we took them from the workshop of a guy."

"Of my neighbor" Jeff supplemented softly and blushed once more, this time with shame.

"Did he know about it?"

Jeff looked down and shook his head.

_***Flashback***_

"_Well, it's almost ready" – Red stated. – "We need only one more thing."_

"_What?" – Jeff asked._

"_Ball joints."_

"_What do they look like?"_

"_Exactly like in this drawing. Normally, we'd get them at the hardware store but today, a guy bought last eight pieces."_

"_My neighbor likes to tinker in his spare time. Maybe he'll have the joint balls..."_

"_You meant BALL JOINTS, you dimwit."_

_-x-_

"_What are you doing?" – Jeff shouted. – "It's a theft! We'll go to jail for this! Why don't we simply ask for these parts?"_

"_Don't be a wimp" – Red stared at him with disdain. – "This guy won't notice that we borrowed them anyway. Besides, we'll return them in a few days when it's over. No-one can do anything to us."_

_***End of the flashback***_

Suddenly, the door burst open and into the office ran Mr. Bates, carrying an oblong bundle, followed by Scooby.

"Give me a penknife and call an ambulance!" the coach demanded, placing the bundle on the principal's desk.

When he unfolded the sweatshirt, they all saw the pale, bound, unconscious Velma.

"What happened to her?" Mr. Abbott asked, reaching for the phone.

"Is she... is she dead?" the horrified Daphne whispered, grabbing Fred and Shaggy's hands.

"I found two open bottles of chloroform near her. I think that you, sir, as a chemist, will know better than I do what may be the consequences of using this by someone inexperienced and, worse, irresponsible" with the last words, Mr. Bates looked sternly at Jeff and Red.

Meanwhile, the older of the men managed to make a call to the emergency department.

"Please send an ambulance to the Coolsville Elementary School, one of the pupils has been poisoned... seven to eight years old... she's unconscious, the breathing's weak... my name's Abbott; John Abbott... Alright, we're waiting."

"We must notify her parents, too" Mr. Bates remarked.

The principal nodded and walked over to the shelf unit where lay the files of the pupils.

"What's her name?" he asked.

"V-Velma Dinkley" Fred stammered, trying not to start crying like a baby.

"Which grade?"

"Third" Shaggy replied, holding back Scooby who with a soft howl tried to get closer to their unconscious friend.

The ambulance arrived five minutes later. During all this time, Principal Abbott had tried to get through to the Dinkleys' but to no avail. Finally, he gave up. When the ambulance took Velma to hospital, the man sent Fred, Daphne, Shaggy and Scooby back home, under the supervision of the coach, and kept Jeff and Red in his office.

"I can understand the fact that you caused panic in the school so Jeff could be a hero" he said, circling between the door and the desk. "But why on earth did you try to poison that girl?"

"I didn't know about it, I swear!" Jeff wailed. "Red said he had to take care of something and went away! I had no idea where he was or what he did!"

"This significantly worsens your situation" Mr. Abbott told Red. "Do you realize this poor child may die because of you?"

"So what?" Red shrugged. "She's just a snooty, useless nerd."

The principal frowned.

"Her parents and friends certainly have a different view on the subject" he said sternly. "As for the punishment, for now, you both are suspended."

"For now?" Jeff repeated in a scared voice. "You mean you want to come up with some other, more severe punishment for us?"

" Not at all. I'm going to just report the case to the police; and I cannot guarantee that they don't put you in jail for a theft, two kidnappings and an attempted murder."

x

Two paramedics ran into the hospital hall with a stretcher on which lay a pale, unconscious, dark-haired, freckled girl with glasses.

"Doctor Stevens!" one of the men called out upon seeing a tall, dark-skinned man with short black hair, wearing a white coat.

"What's going on?" the doctor walked up to rescuers.

"We've got this poisoned girl. The principal said that some two scamps had shut her in a room with two open bottles of chloroform."

"Name?"

"John Abbott."

"I meant the kid."

"Velma Dinkley."

A few meters away, there was a sound of breaking glass. A tall, dark-haired young woman in a nurse's uniform dropped the tray with syringes which she'd held in her hands.

"My baby!" she screamed in terror, running up to the stretcher and taking the girl's white hand.

"Take the girl to the ICU this instant and put her on a ventilator" Dr. Stevens commanded, pulling the trembling woman away and holding her back. "I'll be right there."

"Yes, sir" the paramedics replied in unison and ran in the indicated direction.

"Alice, please, try to calm down" the man seated the woman on the nearest chair. "Everything will be fine, trust me... Just great" he muttered under his breath when Alice responded with a loud, desperate cry "now, she's turned into a fountain..."

"What happened?" called another, a bit older nurse who had come running, lured by the noise.

Dr. Stevens repeated the paramedics' words for her.

"Do me a favor, Christine, and try to calm her down" he added. "I'll inform her husband and then, I'll take care of the kid."

x

Having walked the children (and the puppy) entrusted to him to the Rogers' house, Mr. Bates left with the feeling a job well done. He didn't know – he couldn't – that right after he did so, Fred, Daphne, Shaggy, Scooby and Maggie, who'd heard the story from her brother, ran to the Dinkleys' house, in order to tell Velma's dad what happened. Unfortunately, the door was locked.

"Rot rare ree rooing row?" Scooby asked. (_Tr.: What are we doing now?_)

"Let's wait" Daphne suggested. "Maybe Mr. Dinkley will be back soon."

For a long time, all the five of them sat silently on the stairs. Finally, Shaggy dared speak:

"Fred..."

"Yeah?"

"If you, like, managed to escape, why didn't you, like, come back to us right away?"

"I thought I'd do best if I got help..."

"And why did you choose the principal?" Daphne asked.

"I didn't. I just bumped into him when I ran out of school and I had to tell him the whole truth or we all would be in even bigger mess."

Then, there was silence again but this time, no one dared break it. After a while, it started getting chilly so the kids and Scooby moved closer to one another – and soon, they all fell asleep.

x

Scooby woke up to the sound of approaching footsteps of several people. Having opened his eyes, he saw that the sun had almost set, and to the stairs were approaching the parents of his friends.

"What's the meaning of this, kids?" Mr. Rogers asked disapprovingly. "Why aren't you at home? Do you have any idea how much we were worried about you?"

"We just wanted to see Velma's dad" Maggie replied apologetically.

"Why?" Mrs. Rogers asked.

"Ve-Velma... a-am-ambulance..." Fred sobbed.

"What: Velma? What: ambulance?" Mr. Jones asked. Fred burst into tears and buried his face in his mom's blouse.

"A-an a-ambulance t-took V-Ve-Velma!" Daphne sobbed.

"Why?" Mrs. Blake inquired, stroking her only daughter's red hair. "What happened?"

"Red Herring poisoned her!" Shaggy howled.

The adults exchanged glances.

"Let's split up" Mr. Rogers suggested. "Honey, you, Peggy and Liz take the children back home. Skip, George, we three will go to find out how is the poor kid doing."

x

Samuel gently knocked on the glass wall. Gregory and Alice looked towards him. Greg whispered something into his wife's ear and when she nodded, he kissed her cheek and slipped out into the corridor.

"Good to see you, guys" he said, trying to smile. Unsuccessfully. "But what are you doing here?"

"The kids told us what had happened" Samuel explained. "How is she?"

"Bad" Gregory whispered, lowering his head. "The doctors say she may die tonight. And even if she survives, it's not sure whether and when she wakes up."

"And what is Madelyn doing here?" Skip asked, having noticed Velma's little sister, asleep in Alice's lap. "I thought she had a cold."

"She does have it. Just as I brought her home after a visit in a doctor's office, I got a phone call that Velma had been taken to hospital because of a severe poisoning. I was in such a hurry that I didn't think about leaving Madelyn with Cosmo and Lucy or even with a babysitter..."

"I'll take her" George offered. "She'll sleep in Daphne's room."

"Thank you" this time, a faint smile appeared on Greg's face.

"It's nothing" George waved his hand. "It's the least I can do for you and Alice... How is she taking it all, anyway?"

"She's terribly shaken. I can't remember a time she's ever cried so much before. I don't want to think what will happen if... if Velma dies... She's such a lovely child..."

At this point, Gregory broke down. Two big tears flowed from under his glasses and silently rolled down his cheeks.

x

Mr. and Mrs. Dinkley spent that night at Velma bedside, holding hands and listening to regular beeps of the apparatus which monitored the girl's heart rate. During all this time, none of them moved nor said anything; just as if they were afraid that every twitch and every sound had the power of killing their child.

The next day, when the sun was already high in the sky, the man, without a word, got up from his chair and walked out of the room. Soon after, someone timidly stepped inside, and a moment later, a small, warm hand touched the woman's arm.

"Madam..." came a child's voice.

Mrs. Dinkley looked down and saw a frightened, weeping boy with brown hair and blue eyes.

"Oh, it's you, Jeff" she said quietly. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to apologize to you" the boy replied. "Daphne, Fred and Shaggy have said it's my fault that Velma is here because it was me who had asked Red for help... but I didn't want anyone to get hurt... Red brought this strange liquid and some pills..."

"What pills?"

"I don't know... I didn't see the name... Red said it would help us if someone starts snooping around... I didn't know what it was or how it worked... I'm sorry..."

The woman took a handkerchief out of her purse, wiped the tears out of his face, put her arm around him and hugged him.

"Alright, I forgive you" she said gently. "Don't cry."

"Do you think Velma also will forgive me?"

"Certainly, if you tell her what you've just told me."

"When can I come and apologize to her?"

"Better do it right now. I don't know if you ever again get a chance to talk to her..."

"You mean... she's gonna die?"

"I hope not but the risk is very high..."

"Jeff, give Mrs. Dinkley a rest" there was someone's voice. The boy's mom entered the room. "I'm sorry for this little scamp" she added when Jeff had gone out to the corridor. "I assure you he'll be punished for these antics."

"I don't doubt it" Mrs. Dinkley replied calmly. "I noticed he has terrible remorse. I think it's an adequate punishment for a child of his age."

"Oh... Mrs. Grey..." Mr. Dinkley, who had just returned with two cups of coffee, muttered unenthusiastically. "Your son beautifully repaid for the fact that I'd repaired his bike not long ago" he added bitterly.

"Stop it" his wife told him. "This boy's culpability, at least in Velma's case, is smaller than you think."

x

The direct threat to Velma's life was gone after about two weeks. However, she still was kept in coma – or, as her younger sister put it, "non-stop asleep". Because of that, Mrs. Dinkley, hardly ever leaving the bedside of her sick daughter, was perpetually pale and tired; Mr. Dinkley, previously known for joking almost all the time, became extremely grim and silent; heck! even Madelyn got sad, even though she usually was cheerful and talkative.

"Daddy, when will Velma come home?" she asked one night.

"I don't know. For now, she must stay in hospital" her dad replied quietly.

"Why?" the girl didn't understand. "She's just asleep. Why can't she sleep at home?"

The man sighed softly.

"The medications that Velma needs are only in the hospital" he explained. "Enough of the questions now. It's late. Close your eyes and go to sleep."

"Daddy..."

"Yes?"

"I miss Velma..."

"I know, Princess. I miss her, too. Sleep now" after that, Mr. Dinkley kissed his daughter's forehead. He was about to leave but the girl grabbed his hand.

"Don't go, daddy" she asked him.

x

In early November, Madelyn was cheerful again; this happened for the first time since the day when Velma had been taken to hospital. Daphne – who previously had noticed that the kid's moods were a pretty good indicator of what her parents felt and what was going on in her house – figured out it meant some good news about Velma.

"Maddie" she started gingerly, wondering how to ask the question to be well understood "has Velma already woken up?"

"Not yet" the younger girl shook her head. "My mom says that Velma sleeps as tight as the Sleeping Beauty; but it will be the doctor who'll wake her, not a prince, because we'd have to wait one hundred years for the prince; and the doctor promised that Velma will soon wake up and come home, and she'll play with me, and..."

Daphne laid her hand on her mouth.

"Enough, thank you" she said calmly. "I'll tell Maggie and the guys."

* * *

**PS - What else did I want to...? Oh, right! Feedback will be appreciated! :)**

**VM**


	6. All's well that ends well

**Dear friends,**

**This is the final chapter of the story of the first investigation of the future Mystery Inc. I'm no good when it comes to writing "farewell letters" so...**

**Enjoy!**

**VerMa**

* * *

When Daphne told the good news to the rest of the gang, Shaggy, Maggie and Fred took one another's hands and did a wild dance of joy, laughing like crazy; meanwhile, Scooby jumped on Daphne's arms – which made her fall to the floor – and began licking her cheeks, wagging his tail with an incredible speed.

"Scooby, get off me!" the girl unsuccessfully tried to stop laughing. "Enough now, do you hear me? My clothes will get wrinkled!"

The puppy didn't obey. Soon, however, someone pulled him aside and then, a small, plump, warm hand took Daphne's palm.

"I'll help you up" a soft, shy voice offered.

Looking up, the girl saw Jeff.

"Don't bother, I can do it myself" she said curtly, withdrawing her hand from his grasp, and then swiftly jumped to her feet. Dance classes did turn out useful for something.

"Why are you still treating me so bad?" the boy asked sadly. His blue eyes filled up with tears. "And why is everybody looking at me as if I was a villain? I did return the parts that Red and I had stolen... Velma's parents forgave me... and besides, I hadn't even touched her..."

That was true. Red – who, as proven by the police investigation, had tried to poison Velma with sleeping pills, taken from his parents' first aid kit earlier – got expelled from the school and placed in a reformatory for half a year; Jeff, thanks to the negotiation of Mr. and Mrs. Dinkley, ended up only with being supervised by a probation officer. The day after the verdict had been brought in, Mr. Dinkley and Principal Abbott had a long conversation, which resulted in Jeff getting the opportunity to return to school. Of course, by that time, all of his friends (and not only them) already knew about his involvement in the case of the "monster" and wouldn't even talk to him. In fact, Daphne pitied him a bit but what could she do?

"What are you, like, doing here?" Shaggy asked sharply, suddenly noticing the would-be hero. "Do you, like, think that everything would be, like, as before?"

"After you and Red teamed up with aliens? No way!" Fred added.

"Fred, don't start it all over again" Daphne warned him. "And you, Jeff, better go away and don't come back."

"Say what?" Maggie looked at her reproachfully. "I thought you were smarter, Daphne... but I guess I was wrong."

"What do you, like, mean?" Shaggy didn't understand.

"You all should finally leave Jeff alone. You treat him far too harsh."

"Too harsh?! If Velma died, he'd be co-responsible for it!" Fred shouted.

"But it DIDN'T happen! Plus, Mr. and Mrs. Dinkley forgave him so I don't get why YOU don't want to do the same!"

For a while, there was silence. Finally, Daphne spoke timidly:

"You know, guys... she's right."

"Yeah" Fred and Shaggy muttered, blushing up to their ears.

"So you'll forgive me?" Jeff asked in a voice full of hope.

"Yes" said Fred, Daphne, Shaggy and Maggie, smiling at him.

"Ree roo" Scooby added, standing on his hind legs and licking the boy's cheek. (_Tr.: Me too._)

x

It was Monday, November 16, around 8 a.m. The sunshine, coming in through a gap in the curtains, lit up a little girl, asleep in the midst of white sheets, and an exhausted woman – her mother – sitting by the bed and staring expectantly at the child's face. Then, a rather short, mustached man approached the woman and touched her shoulder.

"Let's go home, darling" he said softly but firmly. "Your shift ended twelve hours ago."

"I'm not going anywhere" the woman shook her head. "Velma has just moved."

"That's nothing new" said Mr. Dinkley. "As you probably remember, she began lifting her eyelids a week ago but as for now..."

"Look!" his wife exclaimed, grabbing his shirt and pointing to Velma who was as motionless as before. "She's wiggled her fingers!"

"I don't want to worry you, Allie, but I think you're seeing things because of exhaustion..."

"Be quiet for a moment" Mrs. Dinkley demanded impatiently. "Now I know where Madelyn got the talkativeness from... oh, look!" she called out when Velma moved once again.

The man and the woman took each other's hand and held their breaths. The girl slowly opened her eyes, then narrowed them slightly, staring at the two blurred faces.

"Mom? Dad?" she asked when two pairs of warm, strong arms embraced her.

"Yes, dear" Mom replied, kissing her freckled cheek.

"Why are you hugging me so hard?" Velma was confused. "I slept just one night."

"That's not true, Elfkin" Dad shook his head. "A bully, named Red Herring, almost poisoned you to death. The doctors saved your life but for over a month, you were in a coma."

"A coma? What does it mean?"

"This means that you slept as tight as the Sleeping Beauty" Mrs. Dinkley explained, cradling her daughter in her arms as if she was a baby. "Except that you were woken up by a good doctor."

"During all this time, Maddie kept asking about you and we didn't know what to tell her" Mr. Dinkley added in a stifled and a bit shaky voice. Velma reached out and touched his mustached face.

"Why are you crying, Dad?" she asked in surprise.

"I'm just happy, sweetie; happy that you woke up. You have no idea how much Mom and I were afraid we'd lose you forever..."

"Is this why Mom couldn't sleep earlier?" the girl guessed, pointing to the dark circles under the eyes of the woman who in the meantime had fallen asleep.

"We can put it this way" the man smiled, placing his daughter on the bed. "I'll be right back. I just must take Mom home and put her to bed" he added, grabbing his wife's waist; after that, he put her to her feet and, having thrown her arm around his neck, he led (or rather dragged) her out into the hallway.

x

A saying has it that bad news travels fast. I, however, dare say that the good is faster. That afternoon, Madelyn aroused interest among her friends by jumping, squealing and screaming with joy when her father told her that Velma had woken up. Within fifteen minutes, everyone in school (including the janitor and the nurse) already knew the good news and Shaggy, Fred and Maggie did their joy dance again – and this time, Daphne and Scooby joined them.

About two hours later, the grinning Mr. Dinkley cracked open the door to the room where lay Velma.

"Look who's come to see you, Elfkin" he said from the doorway.

"VELMA!" Fred, Daphne, Shaggy, Maggie, Madelyn and Scooby cried out. A moment later, the dog and the little Maddie hopped on the covers, and the others stood on both sides of the bed.

"Jinkies!" Velma exclaimed happily, hugging her sister and the puppy. "I'm so glad to see you, guys!"

"Like, we're happy, too" Shaggy assured her, along with Fred, Daphne and Maggie joining the group hug.

"It's for you" Madelyn announced, handing her sister a bit crumpled piece of paper, on which were drawn two smiling girls, surrounded by hearts and flowers. Over the heads of the girls was clumsy, childish scribble, forming two names: _VELMA_ and _MADDIE_.

"You wrote it yourself?" Velma was genuinely surprised.

"Yeah" Madelyn replied proudly. "Dad taught me because he spent more time with me because Mom almost never came home because she was here with you and... and you know what? I missed you."

"I know" said her sister.

"You have a lovely teddy bear" Maggie remarked, picking up the plushie which sat on the nightstand, next to the bed.

"From Jeff" Velma explained.

"What?" Fred was amazed.

"An hour ago, he was here with his parents, apologized and gave me this bear."

"And... and you forgave him?" Daphne asked hesitantly.

"Of course. He had nothing to do with what Red had done so why should I hold a grudge against him?"

Daphne and the boys looked down without a word.

"Most of his friends turned away from him, hence the question" Maggie said quickly.

x

Velma came home on Wednesday, November 25. The next day, at Thanksgiving, Mr. and Mrs. Dinkley threw a pretty big (considering their household budget) party to which they invited their family, friends and the nearest neighbors. Velma, the undoubted star of the day, spent almost all this time trying to escape from the lap of her mom who was showering (or rather smothering) her with caresses and kisses. She managed to run off only when Uncle Cosmo started talking about the findings he'd brought to the museum from his last trip – and she was almost sure that he'd winked at her knowingly.

The next spring, the four fathers joined forces and built a little house on the tree, growing near the Rogers' house, and equipped it with all sorts of toys. They hoped that thanks to this, their children would never play detectives again. I must hand it to the kids that they managed to hide their hobby pretty well for almost three years; however, their parents eventually discovered the truth...

But that's already a new story and we'll tell it next time.

* * *

**Yes, girls and guys, you read it right! I wrote "next time" which means that I have plans for a sequel, called _Their meddling parents_! I hope ****you were ****interested by ****this story enough to come back for the sequel... once it appears. The most probable date is July because my exam session is coming. :)**

**As always, I'd like to know your opinions.**

**See you!**

**VM**


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